GP failed to carry out adequate assessments of a patient's symptoms or take into account mental health issues when treating them

What happened

Mr K saw his GP several times over many months to discuss his painful foot and his blocked nose. He felt that the GP was always rushed and did not carry out sufficient examinations or investigations or help Mr K access appropriate treatment. He also felt that the GP did not take into account his mental health problems when treating him. This caused Mr K pain, and contributed to pre–existing mental health issues, which caused anxiety and depression and impacted upon his Family and religious life. Mr K also complained about the delays that occurred when the GP dealt with his initial complaint about these matters.

Mr K left the Practice because he was dissatisfied with the service he received. His new GP dealt with the symptoms to Mr K's satisfaction; Mr K had surgery on his nose to relieve those symptoms and medication and podiatry treatment for his foot condition.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. The GP kept very brief records of his examinations of Mr K, which sometimes made it difficult to interpret what he was treating Mr K for. The GP did not examine Mr K's foot and nose conditions correctly and did not have in place systems for reappraisal of Mr K's conditions. The GP's examinations and record keeping were not in accordance with established General Medical Council guidelines. The GP treated Mr K appropriately for his mental health conditions by referring him for psychiatric services, but he did not consider the distress that his failure to investigate the foot and nose symptoms caused Mr K.

As a result of these failings, there was a delay of five months before Mr K had appropriate treatment from his new GP for the foot condition and a delay of six months before he had appropriate treatment for his nose condition.

The GP was not at fault with regards to the complaint handling issues and gave appropriate treatment and referrals for Mr K's mental health symptoms.

Putting it right

The GP acknowledged and apologised for the failings. He paid Mr K compensation of £1,000 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused by these failures. He agreed to reflect on his actions and to discuss these with his responsible officer. He also agreed to write to Mr K to confirm that the discussion had taken place and to outline the lessons he had taken from this case and how he intended to put that learning into practice.